Census 2011: A look at Canada's cities

Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald file photo02.08.2012

Calgary is now the country’s third-largest census subdivision and also one of the fastest growing cities in the country. And according to the census, Calgary’s population has reached a mark few cities in the country can boast — more than one million. Between 2006 and 2011, more than 108,000 people took up residence in Calgary, an increase of 10.9 per cent, bringing the total population to almost 1.1 million, census data showed. The only cities that are larger than Calgary are Montreal at 1.6 million and Toronto at 2.6 million.

Leah Hennel
/ Calgary Herald file photo

The country’s fifth-largest city, Edmonton is also one of the fastest growing municipalities in the country. Between 2006 and 2011, more than 81,829 people came to Edmonton, an increase of 11.2 per cent, bringing the total population to more than 812,000, census data showed. Edmonton is now the fifth-largest city in the country, behind Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa.John Lucas
/ Edmonton Journal file photo

Saskatchewan's most populous city is in the third fastest growing metropolitan area of the country. The census metropolitan area of Saskatoon grew by 11.4 per cent between 2006 and 2011, trailing only the growth of Calgary and Edmonton for the same period, according to the data collected in May 2011.Inter-provincial migration and new immigrants were the major factors for the rise in an area that is the 17th most populated metropolitan region ranked in the census with a total population of 260,600.Richard Marjan
/ Saskatoon Star Phoenix

Canada’s largest metropolitan region is sprawling with two of its distant suburbs among the nation’s three fastest growing municipalities. Milton, Ont., 30 kilometres west of Toronto, led the country by growing its population by 56.5 per cent between 2006 and 2011, up to 84,362. Meanwhile, Whitchurch-Stoufville, has seen its population grow by 54.3 per cent to 37,628. The population of the Census Metropolitan Area of Toronto reached 2.61 million in 2011, an increase of 4.5 per cent from 2006.Brent Foster
/ National Post

Windsor, Ont., and its surrounding area, was one of just two major metropolitan areas in Canada to see its population decline in recent years.The Windsor area’s headcount fell 1.3 per cent to 319,246 in 2011 from 323,342 in 2006, according to census data released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday. Thunder Bay, Ont., was the only other area with at least 100,000 people — and no less than 50,000 in the core — that saw a population decline between 2006 and 2011. Windsor — across the U.S. border from Detroit — was hit hard by the recent struggles of the automotive industry.Rob Gurdebeke
/ Windsor Star

The census figures reveal that Quebec’s population of 7,903,001, now represents 23.6 per cent of the total Canadian population, down from 23.9 per cent of the country’s population in 2006. Quebec remains the second largest province in Canada, and its population is still growing, but its share of the country’s overall population has gradually decreased from 28.9 per cent in 1951, while neighbouring Ontario has seen its share rise to 38.4 per cent from 32.8 per cent.Gordon Beck
/ Montreal Gazette file photo

British Columbia’s capital, Victoria, remains Canada’s 15th largest city with a population of 344,615, according to new census data. The city’s population grew by 4.4 per cent — from 330,088 residents — since the last census in 2006. Victoria’s growth rate lags behind many other western Canadian cities. Statistics Canada noted that all metropolitan areas located in Western Canada, except Victoria and Winnipeg, had higher population growth than the national average.Lyle Stafford
/ Victoria Times Colonist

Population growth in Canada’s national capital region picked up speed in recent years, growing well beyond the national average and what had been the norm in previous census counts. Ottawa-Gatineau’s population was pegged at more than 1.2 million as of 2011, up 9.1 per cent from 1.1 million in 2006, according to Statistics Canada. The most recent growth allowed the capital region to retain its position as the fourth biggest metropolitan area in Canada, behind Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and just slightly ahead of Calgary.Pat McGrath
/ Ottawa Citizen

Vancouver is one of the country’s fastest growing metropolitan areas and its population has reached 2.3 million, according to new census data. Vancouver metropolitan area’s population grew by 9.3 per cent — from 2.1 million residents — since the previous census in 2006. British Columbia’s population increased seven per cent in the past five years, compared with a 5.3 per cent increase between 2001 and 2006. The Vancouver metropolitan area remains the country’s third largest, behind those in Toronto and Montreal. Statistics Canada noted that “growth was mainly the result of immigration, as a majority of immigrants chose to settle in these areas.”Jon Murray
/ Vancouver Province

Regina’s population is growing faster than the rest of the country. While the metropolitan area of the provincial capital remained as the 18th largest region in the statistical agency’s rankings, its population grew by eight per cent, compared to a national growth rate of 5.9 per cent. Overall, the Regina area’s total population was recorded at 210,556 in the May 2011 census, 15,585 more people than in 2006. The increase is largely due to inter-provincial migration and a rise in the number of immigrants choosing to settle in Regina. Overall, Saskatchewan welcomed more than 28,000 immigrants over the past five years, compared to just 9,500 in the previous five.Don Healy
/ Regina Leader-Post

New Brunswick’s population growth between 2006 and 2011 was about half the rate of that seen nationally, but it was still the fastest pace seen in the province since 1981.The census, released Wednesday, showed the province’s population up 2.9 per cent from five years earlier to 751,171 as of last year. Statistics Canada said there were twice as many immigrants in New Brunswick in the latest census period than the one that finished in 2006, and also fewer people moving to other provinces.Braydon
/ Telegraph-Journal

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